Camp David accords

Camp David accords, popular name for the historic peace accords forged in 1978 between Israel and Egypt at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Md. The official agreement was signed on Mar. 26, 1979, in Washington, D.C. by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, with U.S. President Jimmy Carter signing as a witness. Under the pact, which was denounced by other Arab states, Israel agreed to return the Sinai to Egypt, a transfer that was completed in 1982. In a joint letter the two nations also agreed to negotiate Palestinian autonomy measures in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, but virtually no progress was made on this issue until the 1990s.